Tour de France 2023 stage 7 LIVE: Route, standings and latest updates as Mark Cavendish chases record victory
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After two exciting days of climbing in the Pyrenees, the Tour de France continues north to Bordeaux, with a flat stage likely to interest the fastest sprinters in the peloton.
Stage 7 features just a single, minor categorized climb over a 170km route from Mont-de-Marsan to the Gironde.
Jumbo-Visma Jonas Vingegaard starts the day in yellow but the big winner yesterday was Tadej Pogacar, who hit back after conceding time against his great rival on Wednesday.
UAE Team Emirates is in renewed form as they clinched a magnificent stage win on the first summit climb of this year’s race.
The pair should cool off and recover on what is expected to be a calmer day, with a bunch sprint all but certain as Bordeaux host a stage finish of the Tour for the first time in 13 years.
The winner that day? Mark Cavendish, and all eyes will be on the Astana sprinter as he continues his hunt for a record-breaking 35th stage win in the final kilometers.
Follow the latest updates from stage seven below:
Start time and prediction of the 7th stage of the Tour de France
The stage is scheduled to start around 12:30pm BST and is expected to finish around 4:00pm BST.
It’s difficult to look past Jasper Philipsen here due to the nature of the sprint finish, but let’s be brave – caleb ewan looks sharp and ready to win a stage and this time he can close the deal after losing a photo finish in Nogaro.
Mike JonesJuly 7, 2023 11:21 am
Result of the 6th stage of the Tour de France
But Vingegaard had the consolation of taking the yellow jersey off the shoulders of Australia’s Jai Hindley and now leads Pogacar by 25 seconds in the standings.
It should be a classic Tour de France.
Mike JonesJuly 7, 2023 11:14 am
2023 Tour de France Stage 7 preview: route map and profile of 145km from Mont de Marsan to Bordeaux
The 2023 Tour de France erupted in the Pyrenees with a slugfest between the main contenders in the general classification in the mountains.
Tadej Pogacar produced a stunning attack Win the sixth stage on the summit climb in Cauterets and lands a psychological blow in a duel with the reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard. But Vingegaard had the consolation of taking the yellow jersey off the shoulders of Australia’s Jai Hindley and now leads Pogacar by 25 seconds in the standings. It should be a classic Tour de France.
There could well be an exciting and hard-fought battle for the overall win, but that can wait: this is a day for the podium chasers to take a well-deserved break from the crush at the front and let the sprinters do the talking. Stage seven is one of the few remaining sprint opportunities in the race and that means that while the GC contenders will recover as best they can, the sprint teams will be under a lot of stress as they battle for stage victory.
Jack RathbornJuly 7, 2023 11:05 am
